A Satellite Investigation of the Destruction of Armenian Cultural Heritage in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan

  • 13/09/2022

storymaps.arcgis.com

Summary

In a year-long forensic investigation, Caucasus Heritage Watch (CHW) has used high-resolution satellite imagery to document the fate of Armenian cultural heritage sites in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan (Arm. Nakhichevan). To summarize our main finding, CHW’s research shows the complete destruction of 108 medieval and early modern Armenian monasteries, churches, and cemeteries between 1997 and 2011. This figure represents 98% of the Armenian cultural heritage sites we were able to locate and assess for this investigation. These findings provide, for the first time, conclusive forensic evidence that silent and systematic cultural erasure has been a feature of Azerbaijan’s domestic ethnic policies.

full article here